PC Fights Fire With Fire

Microsoft is taking the fight back to Apple with a series of commercials, by Crispin Porter & Bogusky, that spoof the Apple ads that spoofed it. The Apple ads, by TBWA/Chiat/Day, feature comedian John Hodgman portraying the sincere but dull office “everyman” extolling the PC while his tech-savvy, youthful friend, “Mac,” played by actor Justin Long, comments good-naturedly. Instead of ignoring the Mac ads and changing the subject, Microsoft found a Hodgman lookalike right in its own office – a program engineer named Sean Siler – and had him protest that Apple has reduced him to a stodgy stereotype in spots titled “I’m a PC”. The witty response, free of the usual corporate-cliche slogans, makes Microsoft seem surprisingly cool. To see one of the Mac ads that started it all, click to the next page.